RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1983 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v BUSINESS IDEOLOGY OF CHINESE INDUSTRIALISTS IN HONG KONG* WONG SIU-LUN DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG Chinese business ideology is largely an uncharted field. (For the handful of studies that exist, see Ryan 1961: 13-36; King and Leung 1975: 33-50; Olsen 1972; Bergere 1968). The dearth of systematic studies is undoubtedly a reflection of the weakness of the Chinese bourgeoisie. The structural supremacy of the polity in Chinese society has drawn scholarly attention mainly to the ideas and thoughts of political actors. But this neglect of business ideology also exists in other societies in various degrees. As Reinhard Bendix has observed (1959: 615) 'The whole development of industrialization has been accompanied by an intellectual rejection of [managerial] ideologies as unworthy of consideration.' This rejection is apparently based on the assumption that the 'real' motives and orientations of the bourgeoisie are already known. Marx and Engel's eloquent indictment of the bourgeois mentality has such a finality that it seems superfluous to investigate further (1967: 82) 'The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. It has pitilessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his "natural superiors", and has left remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous "cash payment". It has drowned the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervour, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of * The research for this study was supported by a research grant from the Harvard-Yenching Institute. This paper is an outgrowth of my D.Phil. thesis, and I wish to thank Professor J.C. Mitchell, my supervisor, for his guidance. An earlier version has been presented in the seminar on "Hong Kong: Its People, Traditions and Culture" organized by the Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong on 15th & 16th April, 1983. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1983 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v 156 that lying at the core of Chinese political culture is a fear of chaos and disorder, (1971). I do not pretend to know how to ascertain the presence of this fear among the Chinese population. At least among the spinners, I do not believe it is necessary to resort to psychological reductionism to understand their attitudes. It is sufficiently plain that the spinners' view on organizational dissent in general and trade unionism in particular were derived from a basic conception that power structures should be unitary, not pluralistic. Since they did not accept the possibility of multiple power centres with divided loyalty in an organization, they could speak with the confident voices of B3 and A17 that 'You must be fair and should not be biased. If your actions are reasonable, there will be no conflict.' 'There should not be conflicts. They are not good for the company. In turn that means not good for themselves [the workers], and they should know it.' Competition and cooperation External to the firm, conflict assumes the form of competition. How did the spinners feel about this central process of capitalism? Olsen in his opinion survey on Taiwanese school pupils finds that competition was negatively valued. He concludes that the 'major connotation of competition in Taipei business culture seem to be those of excess and harm rather than those of vitality and progress,' (1972: 289). This is not the picture I have obtained from the Hong Kong cotton spinners. Over half of them, as can be seen in Table 7, believed that competition among mills is needed to encourage people to do their best. Only two respondents thought that competition is unnecessary. The discrepancy between Olsen's and my findings might well reflect the dissimilarities between our samples as well as the respective economic milieux. But in addition Olsen might have prejudiced his results with leading statements such as 'Business firms should get together to stop "cut-throat" competition', (1972: 288-289). On the whole, I am fairly certain that the Hong Kong textile industrialists had little aversion toward economic competition. But the fascinating phenomenon is their ! ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1983 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j9607p61v 158 themselves in the 1940s. They are not professional managers. If they are professionals, they can argue and agree even if their opinions differ. But as owners themselves, if I am the founder, then my idea is the idea." This view was supplemented by others' remarks such as 'there are large companies and small companies. The small ones do not want to be under others' control'; 'thirty-three mills have thirty-three managing directors, and who will give up?' This fierce insistence on entrepreneurial independence and autonomy is a likely cause for the stark contrast between Chinese industry and its Japanese and Western equivalents - the rarity of oligopolistic groupings such as the Zaibatsu, the cartels, and the trusts in Chinese industry. Autonomy David C. McClelland has extended his studies on achievement motivation to the Chinese case (1963: 6-17). Apart from methodological problems, his investigation is marred by the unsatisfactory questions that guide his research. The meaningful question, I think, is not whether the Chinese are keen to achieve or not, but what targets they are striving for and what kind of individual cost-and-benefit calculations are involved. Various studies on Chinese economic values and conduct point to a common feature: self-employment is at a premium. A small Hong Kong industrialist expressed this vividly when he was reported to say that 'a Shanghainese at forty who has not yet made himself owner of a firm is a failure, a good-for-nothing' (King and Leung 1975: 34; see also Sit, Wong and Kiang 1979: 297-310; Olsen 1972: 291; Ryan 1961: 20-31). Since most of these studies are concerned with Chinese businessmen operating firms of limited scale, it is possible that such a preference is engendered by the structure of small industry. Therefore, the attitude toward self-employment among the spinners who were large employers will help to decide whether the autonomy value is prevalent throughout Chinese industry. In my interviews, I put forth the following hypothetical situation: 'Let's assume that during the earlier part of your career, you had the options of becoming either the senior executive Page 180 Page 181 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1987 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/rx919b522 109 MCKENZIE, Herbert 29.1.1876 MCMULLEN, Jacob 28.7.1937 George Houghton MCPHERSON, Alex 28.7.1905 MCPHERSON, Buddy 19.9.1938 Aeneas Cameron MCPHERSON, Peter 13.11.1935 MADISON, Geoffrey 22.11.1936 MAHONEY, Cyril 9.2.1845 MALCOLM, Alexander 24.5.1932 James Cook MANIHAN, Alfred 17.7.1938 MANN, Ludwig 28.3.1892 MANRIQUE, Alonso 17.3.1908 MARCUSSON, Paul Not known Lallace MARTIN, J (infant child of) MASON, John Robert MATHEWS, Abraham Peter Everhard MESKE, Karl 1.5.1903 MARTIN, Paul Curt 19.7.1904 Not known MASON, John Jr 11.11.1924 29.8.1903 MENHORN, Max 30.12.1906 5.3.1915 MEYER, Ernesto 5.1903 MEYERBREI, Jean 17.8.1915 MILAS, Leonides 30.6.1962 MITCHELL, James 29.1.1922 MITCHELL, Mary 2.3.1921 MOREHOUSE, Harry W 19.1.1886 MORRIS, Heten 27.5.1944 MOREHOUSE, Oscar F 9.11.1885 MORRISON, Raymond 5.6.1958 Margaret Arthur MUELLER, Heinrich 18.10.1913 MULLEN, G H 27.11.1936 MUNRO, John 1.2.1941 MURRAY, Samuel 12.10.1924 NELLE, John Edw. 29.7.1914 NEUMARK, Walter 2.9.1922 Fritz NEWCOMBE, Mahalla 19.7.1919 NEWTON, A Cochrance 28.4.1942 NICHOLSON, Charles 24.2.1912 NORDMANN, Maria 24.5.1875 Stewart Schwab de NUSSBAUM, Gottlieb 17.1.1900 NYSSENS, George 12.4.1893 OAKEY, Francis 17.11.1880 OGILVIE, John 2.11.1882 OLSEN + Not known OPPEL, Gustav 11.11.1875 OSWALD, James 27.11.1865 OTT, Theodor 26.3.1886 PACKSCHICK, Otto 13.2.1915 PALOMO, Emilio 6.8.1964 PANTELL, H 17.6.1916 PATRICK, David Jean 24.3.1896 PAUKERT, Karl 20.6.1914 PEACOCK, Charles 31.1.1945 Samuel PERRY, Robert 8.1898 PETERSEN, Johnny 30.10.1915 PETTY OFFICER from USS "Richmond” 24.12.1879 PEACET, Emile 8.10.1877 PIDERIT, Karl 16.6.1922 PIERCE, Joseph 19.2.1879 PINFORD, Frederick S 6.1951 PITCHER, Samuel C 31.1.1895 PLAZA, Dominga 30.6.1963 PLITTS, W 3.9.1882 PLUMB, William W 21.7.1902 POLLARD, Reginald Lucas 25.7.1889 POLLARD, Thomas 9.8.1889 POLLITZ, Fernando Sydney 7.1902 POND, Oriana 11.7.1869 PORTE, J Marius 14.1.1866 PRALL, Joseph Apsley 10.4.1905 PREHN, Heinrich Otto Friedr. Ludwig 24.12.1878 PRESTON, SC 14.3.1932 PRESTONJEE, J 25.11.1959 PRING, Reginald D 15.11.1938 PURKISS, Garnett Gladstone 8.12.1966 RAE, Alexander 16.9.1884 RALPH, John 18.9.1908 RALSTONE, Robert 10.2.1945 RASCH, Mrs Herta 9.2.1945 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-2003 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2v242g390 121 176,243 grt. Built in 1907 in Dumbarton, Scotland as CULNA for British India S.N. Co. Ltd. In 1923 bought by Ryuoh Kisen K.K. of Dairen, Manchuria and re-named RYUJIN MARU. Japanese flag. She was to be salvaged from the Tan Rocks however on 13th April 1942, when to the south of the Bungo Strait between Kyushu and Shikoku, to be torpedoed and sunk by U.S.S. GRAYLING SS-209 (Lieut. Commander E. Olsen). 1*2,549 grt. In 1915 built at Taikoo Dockyard in Hong Kong for China Navigation Co. Ltd. (Butterfield & Swire). From 2nd August to 5th December 1922 ashore at Swatow, there blown by a typhoon. Eventually in May 1948 to be sold for breaking up. 19PRO ADM 116/2843. Report 158/197 dated 6 November 1931. 20770 tons. Built shortly after the Great War. Three 4.7" guns. 214,400 tons. Launched in October 1911. Eight 6" guns. 223,802 grt. Built in 1919 for Osaka Shosen K.K. On 31 May 1944 to be torpedoed and sunk to the west of the Kuril Islands by U.S.S. BARB SS-220 (Lieut. Commander E.B. Fluckey). 233,001 grt. A new ship, built in 1931 by Scotts at Greenock for China Navigation Co. Ltd. (Butterfield & Swire). Between the World Wars there was a great demand for a passenger service between Shanghai and destinations to the north such as Tsingtao, Wei-Hai-Wei, Chefoo and Tientsin. The ship had been especially built for this trade with twin screw steam turbines to give 16 knots, and her cabin accommodation was luxurious. For winter service her bow was ice strengthened. 241,765 grt. Also built by Scotts but rather earlier, in 1905. She too served on the Shanghai/Tientsin route but was reaching the end of her useful life. In November 1933 to be sold for breaking up in Shanghai. PRO ADM 116/2844. 158/1559 dated 24 June 1932. ================================================================================